Missouri Governor?s Race Turns Nasty

The race for the highest executive office in Missouri turned contentious as Republican challenger Dave Spence tries to unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. The Associated Press reports the most recent assertion by Spence is that his opponent "sold his soul to the devil " to win re-election.

* Spence made the comment at a fundraiser Thursday in Springfield, Mo. He then repeated the same phrase to the AP for the interview. The Republican businessman from St. Louis defended his position by saying, "if [Nixon] is willing to trash my reputation to get re-elected when he knows that's not the truth... that to me is selling your soul to the devil."

* Oren Shur, Nixon's campaign manager, bashed Spence's comments by telling the AP, "Spence needs to pull himself together and get a grip."

* The reason for Spence's ire comes from several ads that claim he bought a vacation home thanks in part to a $40 million bank bailout from the federal government. The challenger reiterates he only owns a small percentage of Reliance Bancshares. In reality, he founded Alpha Packaging and made his fortune through his own small business.

* Spence sent a cease and desist letter to media outlets that air the allegedly defamatory advertising. In the letter, the candidate says Nixon made several false claims and then gives the phone number of an attorney the stations can call with questions.

* Five days after sending the cease and desist letter, Spence requested Attorney General Chris Koster investigate claims the governor violated Missouri's Sunshine Law pertaining to open state records. In a press release , Spence calls Nixon's " lack of transparency and corruption ... astounding."

* Meanwhile, Nixon released a third advertisement regarding Spence's alleged bank bailout on Tuesday. The spot was released statewide five days after the cease and desist letter was sent to television stations.

* Both candidates received funding boosts from their respective governors associations. The St. Louis Business Journal reported Thursday Nixon received $300,000 from the Democratic Governors Association political action committee (PAC) on Tuesday. This follows a $900,000 distribution made to Spence's campaign from the Republican Governors Association PAC.

* Nixon has received more than $1.8 million from the Democratic Governors Association this election cycle as compared to more than $2 million for Spence from the Republican Governors Association.

* The Republican campaigned Thursday at a luncheon sponsored by Women for Spence , a group targeting female voters, according to the Standard. Later that afternoon, the candidate toured Missouri State University and the CoxHealth trauma unit.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/missouri-governor-race-turns-nasty-164800904.html

oscar nominations rough riders joy division norco rand paul detained nbc news asexual